The Next Glowstone Update

Owner

In my introduction post, my answer to the question “What’s changing?” was:In the short term: we'll be performing some maintenance, fine-tuning the current server to your liking, and introducing any quality of life updates that you'd like to see.

After reading through feedback from the two recent surveys, it is clear that the current version of Glowstone has content that is short-lived (you play for a few days and then stop), unbalanced (too many powerful players stopping new players from progressing) and not very popular.

For the above reason, maintenance, fine tuning and quality of life updates aren’t going to cut it. Instead, we’ll be releasing a new Glowstone. This post briefly outlines the new Glowstone in the works.

Firstly, I’ll answer the questions most people are asking:

When is this update going to be ready?
Honest answer: we have no clue.

Answer that will better answer your question: we'd estimate that things will be ready for release in 2 weeks, so release day will probably the Friday after next (18th). That's an estimate - note: estimate! Things could take a bit longer.

Why can't it be ready sooner? Glowstone will die! We want an update now!
The playercount is already very low, and the server is functional. Glowstone isn't going anywhere, nor is the community. For this reason, it isn't worth sacrificing quality for a release date that is a week or two earlier.

We are working as fast as we can, but it's important we release a server that is bug-free and enjoyable. We can't speed the process of design and development any more than we have already. It's important to bear in mind that we had no idea an update of this size was required when we acquired Glowstone.

To conclude: if we rush an update, you aren't going to like it (bugs, incomplete parts, lacking features, etc). If we develop a quality update, that takes a week or two longer: the content will be better, and there are much higher chances that you will like it.

Is there going to be a reset?
Well.. we tried to find out whether a reset was wanted in the most recent survey, and the results have turned out to be very.. inconclusive..

Because of the "split desires" of the community, we have no clue about an item reset. We'll likely release a reset poll when there are pictures of the new server and more information is made available, so that you, the community, can make a more educated decision. We will not reset the server if the majority of the community does not want a reset - don't worry.

Although we have no clue about an item reset, we can say that:

Stats will not reset

Ranks will not reset

The New Map
Lots of players requested previous iterations of the Glowstone map. These maps are no longer available (they were deleted), instead, we will be creating a map that is based on your favorite parts of each of the of previous maps.

We will gather feedback via Discord as the map progresses, so if you aren't already a member, make sure you join. The join link is https://discord.gg/R3yfy3v.

Features Being Removed and Changed
Based on the feedback from the survey, we will be removing:

1.8 PVP - you will need to use Minecraft 1.12.2

Potion stacking

Points shop

Repair anvils

Just kidding! There are no features that the majority of the community want removed, based on what you have told us in our Update Survey, meaning no major features will be removed. We'll be changing (for real):

Crates - making them less pay-to-win and easier to obtain.

Bounties - a lot of players have said that this feature is redundant, we'll add some incentives to place bounties, and make it more obvious when a player has a big bounty (showing particle effects near their feet).

We will be introducing golden ingots dropping on death that can be exchanged for experience. This is something that we will be testing out (as it ties in with some new features), if it isn't liked, we will revert back to the way things currently are.

Head value - explained below.

More features that will be announced in a separate announcement post when the update is ready for beta testing and feedback.

Head Value
When you kill a player their head will be dropped. Each head has a value. If you pick up the head and return it to the head master at spawn, 25% of the head value will be taken off the head's value and added to your head value. Here's an example:

dann2g has a head value of $1,000

Notch has a head value of $4,000

dann2g kills Notch and exchanges the head

dann2g's head value goes up by $1,000 (25% of Notch's value) and Notch's value goes down by $1,000

dann2g's new head value is $2,000, Notch's new head value is $3,000

If someone then kills dann2g and exchanges the head, they would receive $500 (25% of the head value), and dann2g would lose $500 head value

Heads can also be exchanged for in-game cash, if you'd rather add the 25% to your balance. You cannot add balance to your head value (you can only gain it by claiming heads). Every player starts off with a certain head value (something like $1,000).

Real Life Rewards
We've found that a lot of you want to play Glowstone, but often there's just no motivation to grind and practice, or play legitimately. For this reason, we're going to be offering real-life rewards for players who have the highest head value at the end of a season. The length of each season is probably going to be 2-4 weeks. At the end of a season, rewards will be given and head values will reset (not necessarily items and enderchests).

Cool right, but are the rewards worth the effort? Well, if you like money, yes. The rewards will be:

Real money, paid via PayPal

Gaming equipment

Buycraft vouchers

We're not sure of the specifics yet, but they'll be announced closer to the release date of the update.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I understand that it is lacking in some detail, but as the update is still in early-stages of development, anything else I have to say is likely to change (and will result in a lot of confusion).

I'd also again like to thank the community for being so accepting of this acquisition, and your continued support you have offered by filling out surveys, offering feedback and being awesome.

Owner

It's possible, but it probably isn't worth the time. The reason it probably isn't worth the effort is because the 1.7 community is hard to target, and decreasing in numbers. Really the only way to market a server to the 1.7 community is via YouTubers who make PVP content. With a 1.8+ server, we can market via server lists, display advertising and via a much wider selection of YouTubers/Twitch streamers.

That said, at the current moment in time, 1.7 hasn't been properly looked into, but I will make sure it is before the release of this update. If it's possible to implement easily and won't require a lot of effort to maintain, we will do so.

Sponsor

Head Value
When you kill a player their head will be dropped. Each head has a value. If you pick up the head and return it to the head master at spawn, 25% of the head value will be taken off the head's value and added to your head value. Here's an example:

dann2g has a head value of $1,000

Notch has a head value of $4,000

dann2g kills Notch and exchanges the head

dann2g's head value goes up by $1,000 (25% of Notch's value) and Notch's value goes down by $1,000

dann2g's new head value is $2,000, Notch's new head value is $3,000

If someone then kills dann2g and exchanges the head, they would receive $500 (25% of the head value), and dann2g would lose $500 head value

Click to expand...

i already know how this is bc u have it on dancraft, this seems like a bad idea.there is a reson to why servers die